Quality and Accreditations Support Administrator Review

My main daily task is to look after the Customer Service and Complaints Team's inbox - creating contacts and logging cases into the CRM system, passing enquiries to the relevant teams, contacting the enquirers with updates and escalating enquiries to the Quality Manager where necessary. I also work on various accreditations, gathering evidence from across the organisation to ensure that we pass with flying colours. We also have a monthly meeting to discuss complaints with relevant senior staff members which I manage the minutes and statistics for.

I try to go on as many internal training courses as I am able to make time for - these are lead by external training companies. This financial year alone I have been on many such as Deaf Awareness, Race Awareness, Continuous Improvement and Lean, Presentation Skills and Personal Effectiveness and Impact (assertiveness). I plan to attend one of the Unconscious Bias courses as I feel like this could also help to improve my patience when dealing with particularly difficult enquirers/enquiries like the courses I have already attended. I feel like my communication skills have improved, both written and speaking, during my time in this role as I have had more experience in different types of situations and can identify where I need to adapt my tone where necessary.

I really enjoy my programme because it has given me a lot of tools that I otherwise wouldn’t have known about that have influenced how I think about my role. Tools such as looking into leadership styles, PESTEL charts and customer journey mapping. These have been very effective in making me think differently about the way we work with our customers.

I have a copy of the apprenticeship standard which I work through, ensuring that I have enough evidence of work per section which for most of them is 3 pieces. This also helps my support officer to update my profile and keep me up to date on my progress and completion percentage.

I tend to prefer working through things quietly on my own but I do have support channels should I need them. There is an Apprenticeships Adviser in HR who is very helpful should things seem difficult operationally. My line manager trusts that I will do my work well but is there if I need to ask for guidance. They also allow me time to go to the training courses I wish to attend. My colleagues have also been really supportive in advising me on my project work.

I have monthly meetings with my support officer that was assigned to me where we discuss the pieces of work I have done (which get marked and I receive feedback on), the progress of my continuous project work, what I need to do ready for the next meeting and sometimes do voice recordings where I explain certain activities or incidents. This keeps me feeling up to date as we also look at where I am in terms of how far I am against each part of the course standard.

As previously stated in question 3, my programme has influenced the way I think about processes in helping customers. It has also encouraged me to engage with members of staff I may not usually have done. I have been able to speak with the other apprentices across the organisation about their own programme and taken some inspiration from my peers’ ways of working. This has also helped me develop my written and speaking skills and I am a lot more confident in myself thanks to this programme.

There are many social activities, particularly through the Civil Service Sports & Social Club. I am part of the Sports & Social Committee - a small group of staff members who volunteer their time to run the onsite bar on Friday nights, organise and manage the Summer and Christmas parties and other events such as trips to beer festivals etc. We won Team of the Month in January 2019 as nominated by our colleagues that enjoy what we do. There are sports teams such as the football and cricket teams (which I’m not personally interested in). We have an on-site gym and a trainer that works 2 days a week offering classes during lunch times and at the end of the day. We also have some other classes led by other trainers that have been organised by other staff members.

Yes

The National Archives is very encouraging to its younger staff members - particularly the apprentices. We held an event during National Apprenticeship Week to celebrate our achievements and to give our colleagues a chance to see what we do and to show their interest in getting involved. This was a really successful event - the room was full and we got a lot of positive feedback from those that attended. A bit embarrassing to get up in front of everyone to receive a certificate though!

Firstly, I’d say check out the website and have a look at our published policies/codes/statistics etc. to get a feel for the more professional or corporate side of how we do things and why. Knowing this can be impressive to an interviewer and makes them truly believe your enthusiasm. I’d also say to actually visit the site before applying, if you can, as it could be less daunting when it comes to interviews as you would have already familiarised yourself with the feel of the building and grounds - similar to doing a university open day.